Short Misery, Long Joy – June 20, 2016

It was wonderful good news. Our daughter-in-law was pregnant again. We get to be grandparents again! Our son and daughter-in-law (Jarod and Sarah) brought a lot of excitement and happiness to both of their families with this wonderful news.

But for Sarah, that’s where most of the fun stopped – at least for the first three months or so of her pregnancy. Some of you understand what I’m saying – dealing with morning sickness, feeling tired, and the changes to your body. But then something happened that really helped.

After the first ultrasound when Jarod and Sarah were able to hear the whooshing sounds of their little baby’s heartbeat, things began to take on a whole new reminder of the wonderful gift of God that she was carrying.

Through the precious heartbeat of a tiny baby, I was reminded of how God brings about most of the great things in our lives. That baby’s heartbeat should remind us all of how our Father sometimes works – a difficult process that produces a beautiful result.

In John 16:20-22, the disciples were heading into a painful season, their spiritual collapse, and the death of Jesus which would make no sense to them. And then, after His resurrection, the One they’ve depended on would go back to heaven. There would be long, uncertain days in Jerusalem, waiting and praying for what God would do next. And Jesus prepared them – and us – for the difficult process by talking about a woman expecting and delivering a baby.

He said, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve but your grief will turn to joy.” Of course, the sickness and the heartbeat were only a foretaste of the really difficult process and the really glorious result. “A woman giving birth to a child (Jesus said) has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:21, 22).

There it is. Difficult process – beautiful result. That’s God’s consistent pattern for producing new life. But like my daughter-in-law weathering the discomfort of pregnancy, it’s easy to forget the beautiful result that’s coming when all you can feel is the pain of the process. That may be where you are in the processes of God right now. And today God wanted you to hear there is a heartbeat. There is new life that will come out of this hard time.

So stay faithful and keep your eyes on the prize. Even if you can’t see any prize, keep your eyes on the Prize-Giver. Sometimes it’s tempting for a pregnant woman to take medications that would make her feel better but might damage the baby, the beautiful result. Maybe you’ve been tempted to relieve the pain with some choices that might make you feel better. Don’t do it. You could ruin what God is doing.

If this is the painful part, don’t let go of the hope God has for you. The hope that there’s going to be a wonderful outcome produced by this difficult season, if you remain faithful through the pain. The pain will last a relatively short time. The joy will last a long time.

Listen for the heartbeat of God while you endure the grief of this process and let Him light up your soul with the joy of knowing this will be worth it all!